


The Request

by BrazilianWriter



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, ShikatemaWeek, ShikatemaWeek2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:49:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24905602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrazilianWriter/pseuds/BrazilianWriter
Summary: Shikamaru wants to propose to Temari, but his fears prevent him.A conversation with Gaara changes his perspective.[My contribution to ShikatemaWeek 2020. Day 2: Marriage]
Relationships: Gaara & Kankurou & Temari, Nara Shikamaru & Temari, Nara Shikamaru/Temari
Comments: 4
Kudos: 73





	The Request

**Author's Note:**

> This story has been hammering in my head for months and Shikatema week was all I needed to put it on paper. Hope you like it!
> 
> It's already the 25th in my country, so technically it's the second day of the week

_English is not my first language, so I translated this story through the google translator. If you find any grammatical or concordance errors, please let me know!_

There was something extraordinary about watching Temari at Suna's sunset.

Shikamaru was always taken by this thought whenever he ended up being honored by fate, that allowed him to visit and see her in that position.

Temari was in the distance, on one of the hills in the landscape, with the wind on her face and the color of the sky mixing with the tone of her golden hair. Her arms and hips were supported by her huge fan and she had her head tilted slightly to the side.

She shone like gold, with her feet buried in the sand and her eyes fixed on the horizon. She seemed to have been made by and to that place. She looked like she was home.

And that thought, as extraordinary as it was, brought him enormous pain in his chest.

Because seeing her there, so at home, so comfortable, so in love, made his wishes seem even more selfish. His dreams for the future seemed silly and unreachable. The small box he had carried in his pocket for weeks seemed to weigh five hundred tons.

How could he ask her to leave that place? Leave her land, her people, her place in this world, because of him?

Shikamaru thought, when the idea of marrying her seemed more important than breathing, that maybe he should be the one moving. Why should it be Temari? He could go to Suna. He could move to her house, become part of her people.

But his village was gradually rebuilding after the war and his work was one of the most important of all. Kakashi told him whenever he could that without Shikamaru, it would all fall apart. And his father died. Shikaku died in the war and Shikamaru was now responsible for the Nara Clan.

And there was also his mother. She was a widow now. Shikamaru was all she had. How could he leave her? How could he get married and move on a three-day trip away, probably only being able to visit her every several months?

Shikamaru could not move from his village. But then, how he could ask Temari to do it? She had her brothers. Her job. Her people.

He was a strategist, he was the man who always had a plan and could see all the different results that his actions could cause. But, with fear growing in his chest like a poisonous plant, all that Shikamaru was able to think of were two results:

She would say no. And they would be unable to move on, their relationship would end and he would lose the woman of his life, the love of his life, his partner and best friend, forever.

Or she would say yes. But there would always be a resentment lingering between them, a pain he caused by asking her to leave everything behind. And time will pass and Temari would never forgive him and their marriage would end and he would end up alone and depressed, without her and and and...

Shikamaru's shoulders fell. A resigned sigh came from his lips. These thoughts have been prowling his mind every day for weeks. For the first time in a long time he was completely lost. There was no plan.

"The view is beautiful, isn't it?". 

The voice behind him startled him. Shikamaru jumped slightly, turning quickly and facing very light eyes and a familiar face.

"Oh, Lord Kazekage" he sighed placing his hand on his chest. "You scared me".

"Sorry," replied him, giving Shikmaru an almost invisible smile. “You seem distracted. Mind if I sit down? ”

Shikamaru shook his head and indicated the empty spot beside him, on the bench he was sitting on. Gaara sat down and they both turned to Temari, who was still standing in the distance.

"She always comes here to watch the sunset," said Gaara in a soft voice. Shikamaru looked at him curiously. "I always saw her coming here every evening, since we were kids. I think that's where she likes to think”.

Shikamaru nodded, not knowing what to say. Gaara was always a distant figure for him, even though he had been dating Temari for many months. He was kind and polite, but shy and didn't speak much. Sometimes Shikamaru wondered if he was in favor of their relationship or if he thought he was worthy of his sister.

"You know, when Temari told us that you and her were starting to date, I didn't know what to think about" murmured Gaara as if he could read his thoughts. "But I know that you and Naruto are close and he always speaks very good things about you, so I trusted my sister's critical sense."

Gaara looked at Temari on the horizon. The expression on his face was calm and gentle, as was his tone.

"Time has proved to me that you are good for her" he continued and Shikamaru's heart raced in his chest. “I see her smile whenever a letter arrives or when you call. She always seems lighter every time she comes back from Leaf or whenever there is a chance for her to visit you”.

A warm smile appeared on Shikamaru's lips and he looked back at Temari again. He loved her so hard that he sometimes felt like his heart would explode in his chest.

"And I see your smile too."

Shikamaru looked at Gaara with slightly wide eyes. He gave him a small, rare smile.

“I see how you smile at her whenever you talk and how you look at her whenever she passes. It is visible to anyone how much you love her”.

They were silent for a few seconds. Until:

"That's why I wonder why you haven't asked her yet."

If it were possible, Shikamaru would have swallowed his own tongue at that moment.

"What?" he exclaimed, feeling his cheeks burn. Gaara almost seemed to want to laugh.

“Every time I see you watching her, it's like if Temari had invented oxygen. And every time I see you leave, it's like if your heart is being left with her. So it's confusing to me. I am not a person who has much experience with love, so there are many things that I don't understand. This is one of them. If you love her and it hurts not to be with her, why don't you propose? ”.

It seemed like a genuinely curious question. Shikamaru found himself speechless for a few seconds, with his mouth open like a fish out of water, trying to make his own thoughts make sense.

"It's not that I don't want to," he said softly, moving his hand instinctively to the pocket where the box with the ring rested. Gaara's eyes followed his movement. "I want to. More than anything I ever wanted ”.

And it is the truth. Shikamaru wants everything with her. He wants to see her every morning when they wake up, with her hair spread across the pillows and her bare shoulders against the sheets. He wants to hear her humming around the house, talking to his mother in the kitchen, laughing with Ino in the gardens. He wants to hear her footsteps through the halls, her voice every day, her laughter at every moment. He wants to be able to kiss her in the comfort of his home, in the comfort of their home, and see her cheeks redden. He wants to feel her skin on his fingers. He wants to hear her sighs echo in his ears. He wants to have children with her, if Temari so wishes. Small children with black hair and green eyes or blond hair and black eyes or simply blond hair and green eyes. If he can see her there, in that new life, her smile, her look, her attitude, then it is worthwhile that the future of the Nara clan does not look anything like its ancestors. He wants everything.

"So what stops you?".

Shikamaru understood at that moment why Gaara was a great Kazekage. He seemed to have captured him in a fog that melted Shikamaru's brain and made him suddenly want to open his heart and tell him everything he was feeling. No one could deny anything to those eyes.

"I'm scared," he admitted, so quietly that he barely heard himself. "Her answer scares me".

"Do you think she'll say no?" asked Gaara with a frown. He almost seemed to find the idea absurd.

"I don't know" replied Shikamaru looking at his hands. He needed a cigarette. “I just don't want to put her in an uncomfortable situation. I thought about it a lot and I can't leave my village. They need me more than anything right now. So asking her to marry me is asking Temari to leave her home. And I know that you and this land are all that she loves most. I'm afraid she'll say no. I'm afraid she will say yes and regret it later”.

Gaara was silent for a moment, his eyes on his sister. Shikamaru's hands were sweating. He would never expect, even in a million years, to have this conversation with Gaara. The last time he heard him say so many words was when he threatened to kill Lee when everyone was twelve.

Shikamaru knew that Gaara had changed. He might not be outgoing like Kankuro or incisive like Temari, but Shikamaru could see his personality change in his eyes and his light, rare smiles. It didn't make that situation any less strange and uncomfortable, but he decided to keep talking. He wanted Gaara to like him and he was completely lost, after all. Shikamaru was so desperate that even Naruto's help would be welcome.

"It is true that Temari loves this place," muttered Gaara. “And that she would miss the sand, the heat and us. But is also true that no one forces her to do something that she does not want to". 

Shikamaru did not answer, being able to just stare at him in silence.

"I don't know if you know, but Temari was against the invasion of your village in our chunnin exams." Shikamaru looked at him, jaw slightly dropped. Gaara laughed lightly. “She was the only one to question those actions. She was only sixteen, but she confronted our sensei and said that it was not a good idea. And do you know what that proves? ”.

He looked at Shikamaru and smiled. It was the first time that he saw Gaara's smile so big.

“It means that Temari is intelligent and wise, but that she acts with her heart. If she thinks something is wrong, she speaks. If she is against anything, she acts. And if she wants to marry you, she will. It will not be a few thousand kilometers away that will prevent her from doing it”.

Shikamaru smiled, turning to Temari in the distance, looking at her with all the affection he possessed.

"Your sister is as uncontrollable as the wind," he said. Gaara laughed through his nose, affectionately.

"She is. And I think you should keep that in mind. If Temari wants to marry you, nothing will stop her. You will not force her into anything. I mean, Suna's sages try to convince her to accept arranged marriages since she is eighteen and they cannot. It will not be you who will force her to do anything ”.

Shikamaru laughed, feeling his eyes sting. Gaara's words entered his heart and were able to ease the tension in his shoulders.

"She doesn't know that I'm having this conversation with you, but if you want a sincere opinion from her brother, know that I don't believe she would say no to you" he says and Shikamaru feels such overwhelming relief going through his body that it almost burst into tears. “I think what I'm trying to say is that I understand your fear, but I believe it is preventing you from seeing her side. If you make her happy, I don't see Temari repenting in the future, for the simple fact that she didn't make that decision unless it is what she really wants ”.

His eyes burned. If that conversation didn't end he would cry in relief right in front of Temari's brother and she, if she found out, would never let him forget that.

"But what about you and Kankuro?" he asked softly. "Won't that be difficult for you too?"

Gaara looked at the end of the sunset and at Temari for long minutes.

"I got used to loving people from afar," he murmured quietly, his eyes still fixed on his sister. "I will be fine".

Shikamaru swallowed a bowling ball in his throat. And after a few seconds:

"Kankuro, on the other hand...".

Shikamaru groaned sadly. Gaara laughed.

"Oh Lord, he will kill me" he cried.

"Kankuro likes you," said Gaara. “He will be happy. It will just be more difficult for him. He and Temari always had each other ”.

Finally, he chuckled.

“Besides, you can always have a child and call him Kankuro Junior. It will make him forgive you” he joked and the fact that it was Gaara, there, making jokes, made a laugh pass through Shikamaru's lips.

The sunset ended and Temari turned to where they were. Shikamaru saw her beautiful eyes widen in surprise and she raised her hand, waving. He waved back and Gaara stood up.

With a last smile, he murmured as he watched Temari walk towards them.

“Remember, this is not an individual thing. It is not _your_ decision. You are a team. A very smart team to be honest. Talk to her. You will find out what to do ”.

Then he was gone, quiet as always. And when Temari arrived with her beautiful smile lighting her lips, Shikamaru smiled back and felt that the small box in his pocket didn't seem to weigh that much.


End file.
